


S.S.A.

by ReaderJane



Category: Stephanie Plum - Evanovich
Genre: Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-14
Updated: 2006-05-14
Packaged: 2017-10-06 10:18:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderJane/pseuds/ReaderJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lula has an addiction problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	S.S.A.

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: after Eleven On Top  
> Disclaimer: it's all Janet's

I swung through the office door, feeling satisfied with myself for the first time in a week. I'd caught five skips today and my hair still looked damn good. Proudly I laid the body receipts on Connie's desk one at a time, like a winning hand of cards.

Connie whistled. "Not bad. Did you stop on the way home for a shower? I see you brought Norvil in today."

Lula looked up from the nail she was filing. "Girl, you brought in Norvil Thompson and you don't have a single piece of food sticking to you anywhere! Gimme five." She held out her hand. I slapped it with mine and then we did a high five and a down low and I finished the whole complicated hand thing without getting confused.

The bell on the front door jingled again. "Ladies," a female voice greeted us. It was Mary Maggie Mason, the owner of the used bookshop next door. She looked scholarly in a jacket and tortoiseshell eyeglasses. Maggie nodded at me and Lula, then turned to Connie.

"Are you coming to the meeting tonight?" Connie looked a little embarrassed, but she nodded to Mary.

"What meeting?" I asked.

"It's sort of a book club." I knew Connie was hiding something because she was squirming in her seat.

"Connie," Maggie remonstrated. "You know part of your recovery is acknowledging you have a problem."

Lula raised her eyebrows. "You having an addiction problem, Connie? 'Cause I know someone at the meth clinic can get you in right away. We're here for you, girlfriend."

Connie rolled her eyes. "It's nothing like that. I've joined Spoiler Sluts Anonymous."

I wrinkled my nose. "Spoiler what?"

"The next Nora Roberts book is coming out next month. I've been combing the internet for details. It's the third in her latest trilogy, and I needed to know what happens. I needed to know real bad."

"How bad?"

"I put an eBay bid on an Advanced Reader Copy."

"How much?" I asked. Connie was looking very uncomfortable.

"Five hundred dollars," she mumbled.

"Say what?" Lula's jaw dropped. "You paid what for a book? One measly little paperback that you coulda bought next month for eight bucks? Girl, you need help."

"That's exactly what Connie is getting." Maggie patted Connie's shoulder. "She recognized her addiction and decided to get help. That's what S.S.A is for."

"So where does the slut part come in?" I asked.

Connie waved her hand like she wanted to move the conversation along. "People who are desperate for plot details of a new book will do anything to get them. You wouldn't believe the emails I got after I won the eBay auction. I've had offers of marriage. I'm pretty sure they were all women, though."

Lula snorted. "Why they want to know the ending anyway? I don't get that. It's like watching the end of the movie first. Ruins the whole story."

"I always read the end first," Maggie disagreed. "Life's too short. I don't have time for books that won't make me happy."

"What about you, Steph?" Lula asked. "You read the last page first?"

I hedged, "I'm not much of a reader."

Connie's voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "This new Nora Roberts book? All the fans have been desperate to know whether the heroine marries the boy who dumped her in high school or the dark, mysterious newcomer."

"So which was it?" I asked.

Lula clapped her hands over her ears. "No spoilers! Lalalalalala-"

"Relax," Connie shouted at Lula. "I won't tell you. But if you want to borrow the book, I'd be glad to loan it to you after my cousin Edie gives it back."

"Sure," Lula took her hands off cautiously. "I'd appreciate that."

"I've got to get back to the store," Maggie said. "I just wanted to make sure you'd be at the meeting tonight. Support is the key to overcoming."

"I'll be there," Connie promised. Maggie said her goodbyes and left.

"So Steph," Connie said, "you really don't want to know the details, or are you just not a Nora Roberts fan?"

"I'm outta here," Lula grabbed her purse and her coat. "You going to start talking details, it's time for me to leave." She bustled out the door.

I answered Connie. "I have enough drama in my own life. I don't need to read about someone else's." I mused about a hometown boy and a mysterious stranger. Definitely enough drama.

"I guess I could understand that." Connie put away the last few folders on her desk and signed off her computer. I followed her out the back door to the small parking lot behind the bond office.

As I was fastening my seat belt, I caught an unexpected shape out of the corner of my eye. There was something on the passenger seat that hadn't been there when I'd parked my car. I picked up rectangular object and turned it over.

"Twelve Hours" was blazoned across the cover in black, with "Nora Roberts" lettered in red beneath. I flipped open the front cover. On the flyleaf was a single word written in a firm hand. "Babe."

I glanced left and right to make sure no one was nearby. Checked the rearview mirror for any sign of Connie coming back for something she'd forgotten.

Then, oh so slowly, I turned to the last chapter.


End file.
